


Chocolate Roses

by butterflychansan



Series: Wisteria [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Babies, Endless fluff, Flower AU, Fluff, M/M, Short, Wisteria!verse, after Wisteria, valentines day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 10:36:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflychansan/pseuds/butterflychansan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quick short to celebrate Valentines Day! Eleven years after Wisteria, Marco and Jean have two kids, a flower shop on the busiest day of the year, and a moment alone :)</p><p>In Jean's POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chocolate Roses

It was Valentines Day, and the question was not whether I was gonna get laid tonight.

The question was whether I was going to be able to stay alive until then.

I was exhausted. And really, in the short car ride between the elementary school and our flower shop on the other side of town, exactly how much can a six year old talk?

A lot. She can talk a lot.

“--And then Katie had Snoopy valentine cards, because her dog’s name is Snoopy, but then she got mad because I said that her dog didn’t really look like the real Snoopy, but I still like her dog anyway, and then--”

“Ally,” I said wearily, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Honey, take a breath.”

Alex swung her legs from her booster seat in the back of my squad car. The heap of valentines cards in her lap kept scattering all over the floor; I was going to be picking those things up for the next week, or at least giving them to the guys I put in the back in handcuffs. That made me smile.

“Are you listening, Daddy?” she asked, tugging her long dark braid of hair over her shoulder.

I was so tired, and the streets were clogged up with tourists and the last of ski season packing themselves into all the restaurants along the main street. It was a wrestle just to get to our part of the town. But yes, I was trying my best to pay attention to my little girl.

I sighed. “Katie, Snoopy, valentines. Go.”

Apparently a lot went on in the tiny political realm of First Grade. I did my best to keep up while I hunted for a parking spot.

“--And Henry was really mad because Auntie Sasha said that she would get him Transformers cards but then she got him Avengers, and then Michael came in and he had Transformers cards, and then Henry started crying and Miss Karen came over and I just let her take care of him because Henry cries about a lot of things and who even knows anymore. He's ten whole years old, I hope I don't cry a lot when I'm ten.”

I laughed slightly. “You’re hanging out with him tonight, you know. Auntie Sasha is picking you up and dropping you off at her house before she goes to work, so you can be with Uncle Connie while me and Daddy do valentine things.”

“Daddy is your valentine?”

“Daddy is always my valentine. Just don’t tell him I haven’t wrapped his presents yet, ok?”

“Ok. You got him chocolate!”

She looked over at the plastic bag of stuff on the seat next to her. I hadn’t had time to wrap it-- I barely had the chance to even see my goddamned husband this morning, let alone give him anything, so it didn’t really matter. I had a long shift today, and he’d been up nearly all night getting ready for this morning...

The price you pay when you have a first grader begging to go to school early to see her friends, a toddler who thinks getting up in the middle of the night is funny, and own a flower shop on the busiest floral day of the year.

When I finally got a parking spot near the shop, I cut the engine and leaned my head back against the headrest. Just a few seconds, closing my eyes, savoring the waiting to see him and the stillness and quiet for just a few moments...

Alex had unbuckled her seatbelt, and when she finished scooping up all the little notes and cards she dropped on the floor, she started yanking on the car door.

“Daddy!” she laughed. “I need to go show Theo my valentines!”

“Don’t wake your brother up if he’s asleep,” I warned, rubbing my eyes.

“Daddyyyyy--”

I got out of the car, my shoulders and knees and fuck knows what else cracking, the fabric of my uniform and jacket still cold from being outside at work all day. 

I opened the back door and Alex launched herself out, beelining straight for the front door of the shop.  
I grabbed the bag of presents as well as  her backpack off the seat and hoisted it over my shoulder. I’m sure someone would have found the image of a cop with a Hello Kitty bag hilarious, but when you have a daughter, you kinda stop giving a shit.

I paced myself. I took my time, scanning the damage done to the displays in the front window. Valentines Day ended up being a post-hardcore mosh pit half the time, but it didn’t look too bad. I couldn’t see him yet, but that was fine. I wanted to savor it.

Even when I was exhausted, even when I was at work, even when I was worrying about money or Alex or Theo, even then, I was thinking about him. I was looking forward to seeing him. Not many people who’ve had eleven years’ worth of valentines days together can say that.

“We’re home,” I called when I pushed the door of the shop open. The crowd of people standing in wait looked up at me, and I just nodded in greeting towards them. I knew a few of them, I got a couple “hey Officer Kirschteins,” but everyone was wrapped up in their own holiday mess.

I heard a “Hello!” from somewhere in the back room. Marco came through the doorway with a fresh roll of flower wrapping tissue paper in one arm, and my son in the other. 

“Please take Theo,” Marco begged as soon as he saw me, eyes nearly tearing up with relief. “Please, I couldn’t get him to nap, and there’s been so many people, he almost ran out the door this morning--”

I took my little boy out of his arms and kissed Marco’s scruffy cheek; he hadn’t shaved in a week, too caught up in trying to get ready for the flood of customers and product for today.

“Hey, I got him,” I said.

With his free hand, Marco tugged on the hem of Theo’s mini Deadpool t-shirt and ran a hand down the length of my back as he passed. “Thank you.”

I kissed Theo’s short, dark blonde hair. It was still baby soft. “What did you do to your dad, monster?” I asked him. 

Theo watched my face with his big dark eyes, his pacifier in his mouth and the stuffed frog that attached to it in his arms. He looked tired, and I hoisted him farther onto my shoulder as I went behind the shop’s counter, hoping to get him upstairs before something set him off crying. 

“They’re still going to Sasha and Connie’s tonight, right?” Marco asked me as I passed, his hands busy arranging something for one of the ten customers waiting in line. 

“Sasha’s picking them up on her way to the precinct, in a few minutes.” She had been slotted the night shift, so Connie didn’t mind having them over. I was praying he might be nice and let them stay the night, but I hadn’t asked. I wasn’t kidding when I called Theo a monster, no matter how sweet he looked. He’s my kid.

Marco glanced up at me, and for the first time, smiled at me. 

I savored it all the way up the stairs with my son.

Our apartment was a mess, but this time of the year was always psychotic, so nobody cared. As long as Alex had one spot on our old couch cleared so she could sit and watch TV, she was happy, and Theo had his playpen in the corner of the den. I waded through the baby shoes and toys and stray flowers on the floor in the hallway until I got to Theo’s room. 

I somehow scraped together enough stuff to get Alex and Theo through the next couple of hours with Connie, homework and diapers and kid shit like that. Whatever kinda made sense at the time, I threw it together and handed it off to Sasha when she came to pick them up. She always snuggled Theo so tight, and he looked like he was going to fall asleep in her arms, and all I could think was thank god. We might not get any yelling calls from Connie this time. 

It was only 5 o clock. But the apartment was quiet, even with the busy store downstairs. No kids. No screaming. No TV or Marco’s laptop blaring the “Kids Indie” playlist on repeat for the baby. Quiet.

I flopped forward on our bed, still completely in my uniform. I didn’t care. When I let out a sigh of relief, my whole body felt like it crumpled a little. Oh god, yeah. This bed was so soft, and I was so tired, even if Marco never came up the stairs, I was gonna have a sweet romantic goddamned moment with this mattress. The lighting was right, the sun was just starting to set, and I hadn’t had a chance to really sit down and chill all day.

I closed my eyes...

And the next time I opened them, the bedroom window was dark, the clock on the nightstand blinking 9:30. And there was a lump of exhausted florist lying next to me, fast asleep, his apron still tied around his waist.

I reached out and brushed my fingers, light as I could, along the edge of his stubbled jaw. When Marco shifted slightly and nuzzled his face into the comforter, letting out a sleepy breath, I left him alone and sat on the edge of the bed. I peeled my boots off, then my socks, unzipping the thick winter jacket of my uniform and tossing it onto the chair in the corner of the room. My shirt came next, pulling it over my head in whatever way required the least amount of energy, until I had it off and nothing but the white t-shirt underneath it.

“Is this a striptease?” said the muffled, sleepy voice behind me.

I looked down at him, and Marco’s eyelashes fluttered open, looking up at me.

I smiled. “Hey, old man.”

“What happened to my Valentine’s Day performance, Officer?”

“I’m the one peeling the clothes off you here.” I leaned over and kissed him, then moved to the end of the bed again and started unlacing his sneakers. “Did you close the shop?”

Marco yawned. “Yeah. After 8 it was pretty dead, and so much needed to get cleaned, I just... Abandon ship.”

I nodded, his bare feet in my lap. 

He sighed, his voice shaky with exhaustion. “I’m so tired. I’m so glad it’s over.”

I lowered my voice to a sexy growl. “You know what we’re gonna do tonight?”

“What?” I could see the expression on his face, trying not to look like he wasn’t enthusiastic.

“Absolutely nothing.”

Marco sighed in relief, and I laughed.

“I’m gonna take your pants off,” I said slowly, slipping his apron off before undoing his belt and sliding his jeans off his hips, “and I’m gonna find your favourite sweatpants because they got washed yesterday.”

Marco moaned with delight, his eyes closed. “Oh hell yeah.”

“And I got you chocolate,” I grinned, working my way up to the buttons on his shirt. I undid them slowly. “And I’m gonna order you pizza.”

He chuckled, his smile sleepy. “Talk dirty to me.”

“Large... Thick crust... Extra cheese...” I pressed a kiss to the middle of his chest. “And mushrooms... And pepperoni...”

Marco’s back arched under my hands, and his voice cracked when he moaned, “pepperoni...” 

Then he snorted trying to hold back his laugh, rubbing his tired eyes.

“Fuckin’ right,” I murmured into the smooth skin of his stomach, kissing there too before I moved and pulled his shirt off his shoulders. “And we’re gonna sit on our asses on the couch, and we’re not gonna do anything.”

Marco caught my hand and pressed his lips to my palm. “God I love you.”

I lay down next to him on my stomach. “I love you too. Happy eleventh valentines, old man.”

“Old man,” Marco mumbled, “I’m only a year older than you. Wait...” he thought about it. “Eleven years. That means we met, what, sixteen years ago?”

“Seventeen years this September,” I said, leaning my chin in my hand. 

Marco folded his arms behind his head and looked sideways at me. “Wow. Seventeen years.”

I nudged his bare foot with mine. I didn’t want him to go into the college thing, I didn’t want to talk about it. We were happy, we were here, and it was so fucking long ago. It didn’t matter.

“You know what?” Marco said softly.

“Hmm?” 

He smiled slightly. “I still love you like I loved you when I met you the first day. Even if you did get old.”

“Same goes for you, nerd.” I leaned over and kissed him.

“Jean,” he breathed, his lips brushing my cheek, his stubble rough on my skin.

It turned me right the hell on, but I managed a coherent “what?”

“Can we order breadsticks?”

I kissed him long and deep. Man after my own heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I hurt everyone pretty bad with Chapter 7, because FMN Jean is breaking my heart, and because everyone has to remember that Wisteria and FMN indeed has a happy ending <33
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day guys!
> 
> also sorry if this is messy and grammar incorrect, will edit later


End file.
